Marco Pandullo was born in Tropea, a little town at the seaside in the south of Italy. When he was 18 years old, he entered the University of Pisa and started his studies in Mathematics, but after spending some years over the books Marco understood that his way was in another direction. He bought my first camera when he was 20 years old, and after a couple of years as amateur photographer and fake-student, Marco left the university experience and started a 1-year school course at the International School of photography of Florence. So now he’s 24, and he’s involved into the world of photography for a very little time. Marco told us that he would need to grow up and gain a lot of experience, so he decided that he need a change, and in 10 days he’ll move to London for a mid-long period. Maybe something good is waiting for him (and we hope so), or maybe it will be just an experience. It was a pleasure for us to take an interview Marco Pandullo and we are happy to share this interesting story with you.

AP: Marco, tell us about your first photos. What did they look like?

MP: Well, my first photos were absolutely obscene! I started taking pictures of everything: landscapes, macro, portraits and etc. But it was just like a game for me, because at the same time when I started taking photographs I also discovered Photoshop. So my knowledge about photography and digital retouch went on a parallel way. After I tried a lot of kind of photography, soon I discovered that I’m very attracted by portraits and people and I started seriously working in this direction.

AP: Do you have any formal education in photography or were you self-taught?

Semiquaver

MP: As I said before I studied at the International School of Photography of Florence, but as my course was one of the first inside this school, the lessons was not very well organized. So I consider myself self-taught, because 90% of the things in this art I studied myself.

AP: What genre are your works?

MP: Good question. Sometimes I called my genre as a “romantic fine-art”, but maybe it doesn’t mean anything. Anyway, I work in a field of fashion, fine-art and portrait photography. The great part of the works I can do with my camera and my style are pure fashion, but I try to dirty every work with a little bit of fine-art…

AP: How would you describe your photography?

MP: I really don’t know how to describe my photography, because I have my personal vision of my works, and I like to let the other people talk about it. I can only say that for me photography is a kind of self-therapy and a way of happiness. It is the way to express myself through colors and visions, to communicate without saying anything, but just let other people interpret what I think.

AP: What kind of equipment and techniques do you use to create your photos?

MP: I use my Canon 5D Mark II with a Canon 50mm f/1.4 lens. I use only natural light to do the 99% of my works. Then everything is passed through Photoshop, that helps me to express how I see a specific image in my mind. Nothing else.

The Wharfinger

AP: What is the most grandiose project you had to work on?

MP: Oh, nothing “grandiose” for the moment in my portfolio. I just like very much one of my last works, The Warfinger, because it is a very clear summary of my personal vision: there is the girl, the water, the cold tones, the fragility and the loneliness. If I ever could do works like that for all my life and also get paid for them, I think I could die happy.

AP: Would you consider yourself as an expert in photography?

MP: I will never consider myself as an expert in photography as in nothing else. But I like what I do, and I do this work with all my passion, so you can expect the best from me in every work I perform.

AP: What is the formula for success in your activity?

Julija

MP: The formula for success does not exist for me. I’ve read a lot of biographies about great artists, photographers, directors, etc., and every story is different. Something that cannot be missed is surely a pure passion and strength to go ahead anyway, doing the best that you can, adapting yourself to the situations. The most important thing for me in my art is the quality of the works. If the quality is high, everything will come easily to you. Just care about doing GOOD works, watching what happen around you, watching what other people do. By living into this world and doing the best. This is the success. It is not a formula, but something that surely will help you in every kind of career.

AP: Is there someone who supports you in your creativity?

MP: I work alone, every time. This is my character. But my parents and my girlfriend supports (and stands) me in every choice I do, so I can only say a big Thank Them!

AP: Would you like to wish something to your readers and AstrumPeople?

MP: I would say Thank You to AtrumPeople for this interview, and thanks to everyone who will read it.
I would love to close this interview with a quote of my mentor and guide for every aspect of my life, Bruce Lee:

“Empty your mind; be formless, shapeless – like water. Now you put water into a cup, it becomes the cup, you put water into a bottle, it becomes the bottle, you put it in a teapot, and it becomes the teapot. Now water can flow or it can crash. Be water, my friend.”